Local lore : Newsletter of the Topsfield Historical Society

Ts'Pc,

Topsfield Historical Society
Local Lore Newsletter

Collection

Local Lore January 2014, Issue 10
The Topsfield Historical Society Newsletter

WEB Address

Email: webmaster@topsfieldhistory.or

Selected Warrants from

Bog Mining Upcoming Events

Town Meeting 1905

To see if the
Town will ap-
propriate a sum
of money for the
observance of
Memorial Day.

To see what action the Town will
take toward the suppression of the
Brown Tail Moth.

To see if the Town will appropriate
the sum of seventy-five dollars to
jbermanently repair Salem Street
between River Bridge and
Pingree’s Hill, before June 1,

1905, under the authority of the
Surveyor.

To see if the Town will appropriate
the sum of seventy-five dollars for
the purpose of extending the High
Street sidewalk to the New-
buryport Turnpike.

To see if the Town will appropriate
a sum of money for the suppres-
sion of the illegal sale of intoxicat-
ing liquors in this Town for the
ensuing year.

To see what action the Town will
take in regard to purchasing a
^hemical Engine and pass any
' "’vote for votes in relation to the
same.

In the Topsfield Town Records
dated June 27th, 1681 there is
the following paragraph.

At a lawfull meeting of the select
men, the select men granted En-
sign goold liberte to dig twente
tun ofbogmine and is (to) page
six shillings and Eight penc in
silver or iam according to town
order.

While early New England was
primarily agrarian, the iron in-
dustry existed from nearly the
beginning. “Bog iron” was used
until the mid-eighteenth centu-
ry when it was exhausted in
New England, and was replaced
by ore from mines. The dredged
mud, which was 35 to 50 per-
cent iron, was dried by roasting,
leaving lumps of bog ore. This
ore was then “smelted” or melt-
ed down and made into items
the settlers needed; cookware,
nails, farm
imple-
ments and
livestock
supplies.

Sex in the 17th Century

January 12th, 3 PM

Civilian Conservation Corps

February 9th, 3 PM

Kid’sCornet .

By Hannah Barrett

The art of making
wreaths started
1000 years before
the birth of Christ when they
would be made from small
tree branches to crown the
winners of the Olympic games
in Ancient Greece. It is un-
known, but likely that how
wreaths became wall decora-
tions was from Olympic game
winners hanging up their
wreaths on their walls in cele-
bration of their victory. This
made wreaths something to
make in celebration. The
Christmas wreath is a symbol
of the strength of life over-
coming the cold winter
months. H ahging up wreaths
for Christmas was first a
symbol of Christian immortal-
ity. The circular shape is
what represents immortality.
The greens represent life, and
red ribbons on the wreaths
originally represented the
blood of Jesus Christ. Now
we decorate our wreaths with
bells, mini presents, snow-
men, Santa Claus and other
knick-knacks, but wreaths
started out much simpler,
and filled with meaning.

Editor: Anne H. Barrett

Contributors: Norm Isler, Hannah Barrett

c

Local Lore February 2014, Issue 105

■nMa

The Topsfield Historical Society Newsletter

WEB Address (htto://www.topsfieldhistorv.orq) Email: webmaster@topsfieldhrslory.org

Baby, It’s Snowy Outside

Nowadays when a blizzard rages,
the snow plows rumble by desper-
ately trying to keep the roads
clear, but our 19th century ances-
tors approached travelling through
the white stuff a little differently.

In winter, people travelled by
sleigh and many towns employed snow rollers to pack the snow down

for the sleigh runners to glide
across; winter travel back then
was often easier than travelling at
other times of the year.

In the mid 1800s, horse-drawn
plows made their debut, and were
especially useful in town and city
centers to clear streets and thor-
oughfares for pedestrians.

was introduced in the 1920s by
Carl Frink, whose company Frink-
America still sells plows to this day.

http://mentalfloss.eom/artide/32006/scenes-history-snow-

removal

A predecessor to the snowblower
was invented for use in clearing
railroad tracks in Canada in the
1880s.

The ancestor of today’s snowplow

Congregational Church Records— December 30, 1733 The Case of Stephen Peabody of Box-
ford, with Respect to his Desire of Admission into the Church of Topsfield being laid before
that Church the Church passed the following vote namely inasmuch as Stephen Peabody has
desired Admission into the Church of Boxford and the Rev: Pastor there with some of the
Atfhren are so dissatisfied that he is denied Admittance there we cannot at present see our
^ clear to act any thing in order to his Admission with us unless the Difference between
Rogers and Peabody be laid before a Council and a
Council after hearing both Parties, should advise us to
receive Him into our Communion.

Editor: Anne H. Barrett
Contributors: Norm Isler, Sarah Barrett

Upcoming Events

Civilian Conservation Corps

February 9th, 3 PM

Annual Meeting

March 9th, 3 PM

Let’s go back to the fall

when it was warmer ’

*

and the leaves on the *v
trees were turning
bright reds, yellows and oranges. I
love winter, but when I think back to
fall I miss it. My favorite things in the
fall are apple picking, cider donuts,
fall foliage hikes, and the Topsfield
Fair. Since I have lived in Topsfield
for pretty much my whole life, the
Topsfield Fair is a big part of fall to
me. I love to eat the delicious food,
see the animals and painted pump-
kins, and how magical the midway is
when it lights up at night. My favorite
ride in the midway is the Ferris Wheel
because the view from the top is
amazing and beautiful. Did you ever
wonder how the Ferris Wheel came
about and where it got its name from?
The first Ferris Wheel was designed by
a Pennsylvanian bridge-builder
named George W. Ferris. He built the
first Ferris Wheel in 1893 for the
World’s Fair in Chicago which cele-
brated the 400th anniversary of Co-
lumbus’s arrival in America. Chicago
wanted something built that would be
grand enough to compete with the
Eiffel Tower in Paris, France. Gustave
Eiffel had built the Eiffel Tower for the
Paris World's Fair of 1889 in honor of
the 100th anniversary of the French
Revolution. The original Ferris Wheel
cost $0.50 per ride, and made
$726,805.50 during the World’s Fair.

(

Digitized by the Internet Archive

in 2017 with funding from (

Boston Public Library

(

https://archive.org/details/locallorenewslet2014tops

Local Lore March 2014, Issue 1C
The Topsfield Historical Society Newslette

WEB Address fhttD://www.topsfieldhistorv.orq) Email: webmaster@topsfieldl

Society Artifact Indicates Topsfield’s Stand on Slavery Upcoming Events

Slavery in the United States existed as a legal institution from the earliest
years of the Colonial period. It was firmly established by the time the US won
independence from Great Britain in 1776; however by 1804 all states north of
the Mason Dixon line had either abolished it outright or passed laws for its
eventual abolition.

Annual Meeting

March 9th, 3 PM

Life & Death at Sea

In 1787 Thomas Jefferson proposed its abolition in all territories but Con-
gress failed to pass his proposal by one vote. Slavery gained new life in the
south after 1800 as the cotton industry grew and required a large amount of
intensive labor to support that growth.

The import or export of slaves became a crime under US and Great Brit-
ain’s laws in 1808; however by the 1850s the south was vigorously defending
slavery and its expansion into the territories.

Compromises failed and, by 1861, eleven slave states broke away to form
the Confederate States of America, leading to the Civil War.

Topsfield’s quota of enlisted men for the Army and Navy was 107 and the
town furnished 1 13 of which 5 were commissioned officers; this occurred
^ile the population in 1860 was 1292.

At a town meeting in May of 1861 a vote was approved to furnish “good and
sufficient support” to the families of those who may be detailed by the gov-
ernment into service. The town also voted in July 1862 to provide a bounty of
$125.00 to each volunteer enlisting to the credit of the town

In 1864 President Lincoln freed the slaves through the Emancipation Procla-
mation. The 13th amendment took effect in December, 1865 permanently
abolishing slavery throughout the entire United States.

The banner is be-
lieved to have been
placed in the attic by
George Francis Dow
^o was a staunch
member of the Repub-
lican party.

John Fremont James Buchanan

Topsfield’s role during this time period can be seen by the abolitionist ban-
ner displayed in the Gould Barn. This banner, discovered rolled up in the
Capen House attic in 2000, was used by the Fremont and Dayton Club of
Topsfield at a rally in Georgetown on October 16, 1856. John C. Fremont was
running on the Republican Party’s abolitionist ticket for President but lost to
slavery’s Democrat
candidate James Bu-
chanan.

Sources for this article were Wikipedia and THS records

April 25th, 7:30 PM

Kid’s

Corner

People have
wanted to
look at
themselves
for thousands of years. At first
they had to rely on seeing their
reflection in pools of still water,
later using pieces of polished
stone and then various metals.

Metal-coated glass mirrors are
said to have been invented in
Sidon (modern-day Lebanon) in
the first century AD.

The method of making mirrors
out of plate glass was invented
by 16th-century Venetian
glassmakers who covered the
back of the glass with mercury.
Venetian mirrors installed in
richly decorated frames served
as luxury decorations for pal-
aces throughout Europe, but
the secret of the mercury pro-
cess eventually arrived in Lon-
don and Paris during the 17th
century, due to industrial espi-
onage, eventually making mir-
rors affordable to the masses.

wikipedia.com

Editor: Anne H. Barrett
Contributors: Norm Isler

(

V

,

(

The Game of War

When allied
airmen be-
gan to risk
their lives
flying mis-
sions over
occupied
Europe,

Parker
Brothers'

English partner found a way to
use the Monopoly game to come to
the aid of those who were cap-
tured by the Germans. The British
War Office worked with a select
^*oup of staffers at British compa-
ct Waddington to modify Monopo-
ly boards for insertion in games
that fictitious war relief organiza-
tions such as the Licensed Vict-
uallers Prisoners Relief Fund de-
livered to Allied prisoners of war.
These staffers carved out precise
depressions in the unfinished
game boards and, before applying
their labels, filled them with low-
profile compasses, files, and maps
that depicted escape routes from
the prison camp where each game
was to be sent. (The maps were
printed on silk because silk did
not rustle when opened). Hidden
among the games' play money was
read currency — German, Italian,
or Austrian. It is not known how
^any airmen escaped thanks to
*se Monopoly games.

Editor: Anne H. Barrett
Contributors: Norm Isler, Sarah Barrett

A Bit About Union Oyster House

Before it became a seafood house,
the building housed importer
Hopestill Capen's fancy dress goods
business, known colorfully as "At the
Sign of the Cornfields."

Beginning in 1771 printer Isaiah
Thomas published his newspaper
"The Massachusetts Spy," long
known as the oldest newspaper in
America, from this location.

In 1775, Capen's silk and dry goods
store became headquarters for
Ebenezer Hancock, paymaster of the
Continental Army. Federal troops
received their "war wages" in this offi-
cial pay-station.

During the revolution the Adams,
Hancock, and Quincy wives and
neighbors often sat in their stalls at
the store sewing and mending
clothes for the colonists.

In 1796, a future king of
France lived on the sec-
ond floor. Exiled from his
country, he earned his
living by teaching French
to many of Boston's fashionable
young ladies. Later Louis Phillippe
returned home to serve as King from
1830 to 1848.

Oysters were first served to the pub-
lic in this country in 1763 in New
York City. In the
19th century, the
American people
were enveloped in
an oyster craze.

In every town
there were oyster
parlors, oyster
cellars, oyster sa-
loons, oyster
bars, oyster houses, oyster stalls and
oyster lunchrooms.

Upcoming Events

Life & Death at Sea

April 25th, 7:30 PM

Civilian Conservation Corps

May 9th, 7:30 PM

Kid’s
Corner

By Sarah Barrett

One of my favor-
ite things to do in the spring is
go for hikes at old estates that
have been turned into nature
preserves. There is often a
grand house or mansion on the
property where the -owner=of~the ~
estate lived, and sometimes rare
types of vegetation that the own-
ers bought to decorate their
land. As inhabitants of
Topsfield, we are very lucky to
have two large estates that have
been turned into nature pre-
serves right in our very own
town! Have you been to the
Audubon Ipswich Wildlife Sanc-
tuary or Bradley Palmer State
Park? The Sanctuary is 1,954
acres of beautiful woods, river,
fields, and wetlands where
Thomas Proctor once lived. He
donated his whole estate to the
Audubon Society so it could be
enjoyed by all! Bradley Palmer
State Park is made up of 721
acres of beautiful land with a
grand mansion tucked away
near the main entrance. Brad-
ley Palmer also had a love for
nature and donated his estate to
the state of Massachusetts to
preserve its wildlife. So get out
there this spring and enjoy
these lovely gifts of nature that
these kind people wanted to
share with us!

Local Lore May, 2014 Issue 108
The Topsfield Historical Society Newsletter

WEB Address fhttD://www.topsfieldhistorv.orq) Email: webmaster@topsfieldhistofy.org

o

U *

s &

^ '*** '

# £

W e>

The 19th century Ladies’ Magazine and Album was

an early hard cover publication devoted to the arts, sci-
ence, music, painting, religion and literature. Pictured
here is an 1849 copy with the owner’s name engraved in
gold on the front cover. Inside there are stories, poetry,
opinions and musical scores. Below is an excerpt.

Farmers’ Wives

The farmers of this country occupy a position of
honor and usefulness. They are the source of a
nation’s wealth and prosperity, and by their vote
and influence can at any moment decide its desti-
ny. Their wives occupy a position of correspond-
ing importance in our country’s history; they are
and have been the mothers of the men whom our
nation delights to honor. The wives, whose thrift

and industry have secured for their husbands a competence, whose in-
telligence is the light of the social circle and whose piety is the guardian
~f domestic peace, are emphatically, the mothers of our MEN. They see
many of their sisters of toil have fainted beneath the pressure of
misfortune, and have failed to reach that sublime eminence for which
woman is destined. They have trained up useless offspring, and have
bequeathed to their country a curse, instead of a blessing. They have
SADLY FAILED in the great aim and end of life. They have been moth-
ers, but without habits of industry, without intelligence or piety. Their
children have been sent from the parental roof morally disqualified for
the duties and responsibilities of virtuous life. There is a an evident
tendency in these days of increasing wealth and luxury among our
farmers, to imitate the ostentation and display of fashionable city life.
We are not averse to the elegancies of life, but to train up our daughters
only to shine in the parlor, and our sons to despise the honest toil of the
husbandman, and feel that they must aspire to a profession, if they
would be MEN, this we say is a sin that ought not to go unrebuked.

Our fathers who laid the foundation of our nation’s greatness, were the
. humble tillers of the soil. Our mothers, whose

* V _ iBL names and heroic deeds are immortal, cultivated

1 the domestic virtues, they plied the loom and the
9 needle and made the garments of the men whose
T names are associated with the heroism of the
* past. We must look still to farmers’ wives for the
men of strong frames, iron nerves and heroic
hearts to accomplish our nation’s destiny.

Upcoming Events

Civilian Conservation Corps

May 9th, 7:30 PM

Strawberry Festival

June 14, 10 AM to 4 PM

Kid’s

Corner

b, Sarah Barrett — -

t

Editor: Anne H. Barrett Contributors: Norm Isler, Sarah Barrett

Did you have a
good April vaca-
tion? I am in -T

college, so we mm_‘~ --

had our spring
break in March, and I was
lucky enough to travel to Puer-
to Rico, a tropical island in the
Caribbean that is actually part
of the United States. While I
was there, I learned a lot about
Puerto Rico’s interesting histo-
ry. Christopher Columbus and
his crew were the first Europe-
ans to discover the island in
1493. There were 60,000 Ara-
wak Indians living there, but
unfortunately over time they
died out due to disease, war

of the Spaniards. Spain want-
ed control over the island be-
cause it had many rich re-
sources like gold and sugar
that could be sent back to Eu-
rope. This is where Puerto Rico
got its name which means “rich
port” in Spanish. I explored a
couple of really amazing forts
in the capital city of San Juan.
These forts were used by the
Spaniards to protect Puerto Ri-
co from invasion by other coun-
tries. In the end, the U.S. won
control of Puerto Rico as a re-
sult of the Spanish-American
War of 1898.

(

c

A Close Call

During World War II the
New England coast was
equipped with many rein-
forced concrete watch tow-
ers that were manned 24/7
on the lookout for enemy
ships, planes or subma-
rines. In addition the Ports-
mouth Naval base was
guarded by a number of 12
inch guns emplacements
plus a net strung across the
harbor entrance which only
opened to allow military ves-
sels or supply ships to pass,
jne evening the net was
pened to allow a tanker to
enter. Unbeknownst to the
guard detail a Nazi subma-
rine was closely following in
the tanker’s wake, obviously
hoping to evade detection;
how-
ever
an
alert

sonar operator picked up
the sound of two vessels,
not one, and quickly report-
ed his finding. Searchlights
were brought to bear on the
sub which quickly reversed
course and ran for the open

« before shore batteries
Id open fire. The damage
to the shipyard could have
been severe if the sub’s mis-
sion had been successful.

Upcoming Events

Strawberry Festival

June 14, 10 AM to 4 PM

Doll Tea

August 27, 2 to 4 PM

From the Essex Gazette, Aug. 4, 1772

Abigail, my wife, obstinately refusing to con-
tinue with me in Obedience to marriage Cov-
enant, in that she refuses to bed and board
with me; Therefore these are to forbid all
Persons from harbouring and entertaining
the said Abigail as they would avoid the Pen-
alty of the Law: but if the said Abigail will
return to her Husband, and behave agreeably
in her marriage station, then I stand ready to
forgive all former pardonable offences, as
though they had never been: Furthermore, I
the said Joseph forbid all Persons contracting
any Debts with the said Abigail, for I will not
pay one Farthing of any Debt contracted by
her from the Date hereof.

JSracfcstreet

Congratulations to this year’s Kimball
Scholarship winners:

Sarah Barrett, UMass Amherst
Master of Education
Andrew Boepple, Salem State
Master of History

Matthew Chadwick, Westfield State
Emily Coffin, Connecticut College
Jeffery Daniels, College of the Holy Cross
Brian Dierze, Lafayette College
Jacob Gillespie, Tufts University
Katherine Guinee, Mount Holyoke
William Guinee, Dartmouth
Madison Kelly, Northeastern University
Aliya Kitsakos, McGill University
Emily Mcllvaine, Bates College
Kyle Quimby, UMass Lowell

Editor: Anne H. Barrett

Contributors: Norm Isler, Hannah Barrett

Kid’s Corner

k, Hannah Barrett

I recently visited
the house of Mark
Twain in Hartford
Connecticut,

home of the author of Huckleberry
Finn, Tom Sawyer, and many other
wonderful classics. Mark Twain was
actually his pen name; the real name
of this famous author was Samuel

-Clemens, Xlemens- was-bom inl835,

and lived in this beautiful house in
Hartford from 1874 until they moved
out in 1903 after the tragic death of his
beloved daughter Susy. Clemens’ wife
Livy sketched out plans for their new
home when they first moved to Hart-
ford; she had strong opinions for how
she wanted their home to look. Con-
struction of their remarkable mansion
began in 1873 while Sam and Livy
were away. Each room of their home
was influenced by different countries
they had traveled to, and was decorat-
ed as such. The dining room, for exam-
ple was influenced by Japanese cul-
ture, and the parlor had lavish furnish-
ings from India. The Clemens took
much care to make their house more
than just a house, each room was or-
nately decorated with fascinating man-
tles and fireplaces, or ceilings and
walls decked out in painted designs.
The outside of the mansion has bricks
painted to create different patterns and
designs, very creative. The Clemens’
home was full of wonders bound to
spark the imagination, which was par-
tially Sam Clemens’ intention. Clemens
wrote some of his most famous works
while living in this house, such as The
Adventures of Tom Sawyer, The Prince
and the Pauper, Connecticut Yankee in
King Arthur’s Court, Life on the Missis-
sippi, and arguably his most famous
novel, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.
Clemens once said: “To us our house
had a heart, and a soul, and eyes to
see us with; and approvals and solici-
tudes and deep sympathies; it was of
us, and we were in its confidence and
lived in it’s grace and in the peace of
it’s benediction.”

(

Read All About It

The Topsfield Library Society
was organized in 1794. Rev-
erend Asahel Huntington
was the first secretary and
may have been behind the
Society’s formation. The li-
brary Constitution set forth
that each member was re-
quired to pay twenty shil-
lings to be used for the pur-
chase of books. The library
was to be kept within one
mile of the meetinghouse
and was to be open the last
Monday of each month from
tfc) 4 PM. Each member
could take out one book, not
to be kept more than two
months. In 1824 the hours
were changed to the last
Monday of May, August, No-
vember and February from 4
to 6 PM and each member
was allowed to borrow two
books. Eighty members
signed the Constitution, in-
cluding three women. Ac-
cording to the by-laws
“Books shall be taken out in
alphabetical order.” Failure
to return a book by 2 PM on
a library open day resulted
in a 6 pence fine.

^tong the first 68 books
purchased was Rollins An-
cient History in ten volumes.

From History of Topsfield, Dow

57 years ago this month, Ford introduced
the Edsel, one of the most disa«*rous car
launches in American history that lost the
company millions of dollars.

Take Note

When parking for Friday night events,
please use only the designated spaces
along the back of the Emerson parking
lot, as The Commons has use of most of
that parking lot for their events. Also con-
sider parking along the common, and car-
pooling to make things less congested.

Leslie S. & Hope T. Ray Memorial Trust

Leslie Ray, Jr. has established a trust in
honor of his parents who were active
members of the Topsfield community. His
father, Leslie Sr., was born at 54 Main
Street where he lived all his life, and was
a Topsfield native and member of a long
time Topsfield family. He served as Se-
lectman, School Committee Member and
Tax Collector for many years. His mother
Hope was from East Providence, Rhode
Island and was active in a number of com-
munity affairs.

The Trust will be administrated by the
Historical Society with the purpose of car-
ing for and maintaining the Society’s prop-
erties. Society members are invited to
support the trust by mailing donations to
the Topsfield Historical Society, PO Box
323, Topsfield, MA 0198.. For more infor-
mation about this Trust please contact
Norm Isler, President, Topsfield Historical
Society at the above address or email him
at normisler@comcast.net.

Editor: Anne H. Barrett

Contributors: Norm Isler, Hannah Barrett

Upcoming Events

September 19th, 7:30 PM

Only Yesterday;

Popular Music of the 50s and 60s

September 24th, 10 AM

Tour of Salem Museum and Luncheon

October 17th, 7:30 PM

Haunted Lighthouses of New England

ns "*

■ : r

Summer Vacation

' * *

■

c

•

c

r

Vs runs the daft,
doth pift,

viv Bade and Heart
•jhiU never patt,

JLiUCCU LUl C October. 2014 Issue 111

. >.- -

'

The Topsfield Historical Society Newsletter

WEB Address (http://www.topsfieldhistorv.ora) Email: webmaster@topsfieldhistory.org

October 17, 7:30 PM

Haunted Lighthouses of New England

November 14th, 7:30 PM

Theater in America: Banned to Bawdy

The total output during the
summer was approximately
3,000 jars of fruits and vegeta-
bles, 1800 glasses of jelly, and
500 pounds of jam. The record
output for one day, six people
working, was 184 jars and 45
pounds of jam.

In observance of “Soldiers’
Week” in October, one hundred
and twenty-three gallons of
jam were produced and taken
to the Fort Devens hospital.

Do We Have Your Email?

ou do not receive emails from
the Society please email
topsfieldhistory@juno.com

Sixty individuals from Topsfield
served during WWI, including 2 wom-
en. Helen Jordan left for France in
19 16 followed by Alice Lake in May

1917. Both were nurses and re-
mained in France for the duration of
the war. Two Topsfield men died in
France. John Joseph Farwell died of
pneumonia and is buried in the
American military cemetery in Beau
Desert. Robert Lake was killed in ac-
tion in September of 1918.

In 1920 the town appropriated $600
for the memorial tablet on Veterans
Memorial Green opposite the library
which reads “In honor of the men and
women of Topsfield who helped re-
store peace to a world at war 1914-

1918. ” The last WWI veteran died in
the UK this past year.

Editor: Anne H. Barrett

Contributors: Norm Isler, Hannah Barrett

Upcoming Events

October 26, 2 to 4 PM

Witches Roost

Halloween Party for Children

We CAN Achieve Victory

To support the war
effort, a Communi-
ty Canning Club
was established in
1917. For pay-
ment of 50 cents
club members
could choose to:

-Order and buy from the Club
any finished product at 4%
discount from the regular retail
price.

-Send vegetables, with or
without jars, to the Club to be
put up at actual cost of labor,
plus 20% for overhead.

^Do their own work at the
*ub and profit by Mrs. Smer-
age's advice, at a charge of two
cents per jar, for the use of the
container.

At the Septem
ber Society
meeting Norm
was surprised
by a celebration
commemoratin'
his 25th anni-
versary as presi-
dent A presen-
tation describing the highlights of
his presidency included mention
of the building of the Shoemaker's
Shed, the Gould Bam, and the
Caretakers Cottage, as well as a
doubling in membership. Peggy
was also recognized for her 12
years as Gould Barn Manager.
They were presented with com-
memorative gifts and a beautiful
photo cake was enjoyed by all
who attended. Congratulations!

WWI and Topsfield

Kid’s Corner i

liv Haniuih Barrett ‘

It’s that time of year again; pencils,
notebooks, whiteboards and the
ABC’s taped up on the classroom
wall. These ABC’s you may see in
your classroom usually have cute
little pictures of an apple with a
worm for A, maybe a bumblebee for
B, and a cat for C. The ABC’s were-
n’t so fun and friendly in the time of
the Puritans, when each letter was
accompanied by a religious, sad,
scanr rhyme. For example the letter
G might have the rhyme: “as runs
the glass, man’s life doth pass.” re-
ferring to an hourglass’s passing
time, and coming nearer and nearer
to death. Or for the letter F: “The
idle fool is whipt at school.” Puritan
children would be taught these
rhymes to remember their alphabet
from a young age, and their lesson -
books would be filled with them,
along with eerie black and white
sketches. The Puritans did not tol-
erate children fooling around and
just being kids, they quickly made
their children serious, realistic, and
diligent workers. Now, kids can be
kids and enjoy colorful, funny pic-
tures on their alphabets and lesson-
books!

( ^

Topsfield’s Summer Resort Welcome Amy!

BOATS mm3 CANOES

&trangaihe Jttn

STEAK, CHICKEN AND LOBSTER DINNERS ■

8srv#d u yoa Kk* them * AlaoahiCMt* Y

ORCHESTRA AND DAN CINQ
Banquet*. Bridge mm3 Birthday Putict Catered To
M, a DOumm WleeAeeee r. Era*.

HOOD POND TOPSFIELD, MASS.

*3^

During the 1940’s there was a
place called the Sunnyside Inn,
located on Hood’s Pond, that
served meals (special Sunday
dinner for $2.00, children
$1.00), had an orchestra and
dancing and catered banquets
and parties. It was operated by
^atharina Winchester, who also
fRnted furnished cottages by
day, week, month or year as
well as boats and canoes. The
Inn’s menu specialized in
steak, chicken and lobster din-
ners. As time went by the Inn
became Jack Hackett’s
Lakeside Restaurant located on
the town line separating wet
Ipswich from dry Topsfield with
the bar located- you guessed it-
in Ipswich. The restaurant
burned in the mid-1970s.

We welcome Amy
Bruch as our
new tenant in the|

Caretaker’s Cot-
tage! Amy re-
cently assumed the position of
Associate Minister for Children &
Youth Ministries at the Congrega-
tional Church. Over the past
twenty years Amy has served stu-
dents of every faith in a number
of schools and churches. She is
also a professional potter and
sells her liturgical pottery at cler-
gy events around New England.
Amy’s role at the church will be
working with the church’s chil-
dren and youth through a variety
of programs and events.

Capen House Hosts Visitors

Over the summer the Capen House
saw about 80 visitors, not to men-
tion the steady stream of guests
during the Strawberry Festival and
nearly 40 people who enjoyed the
Trails & Sails Open House.

A hearty thanks to the docents
who make this possible: Annette
Cohen, Bill Power, Pat & George
O’Connor, Wendy & Russ
Thatcher, Peggy & Edward Roaf,
Gail Overberg, Ed Roman, Irina
Gunzel-Guerra, Susan Winship,
Sean Ward, Karen & Ted Quinn,
Meg Philpott, Boyd Jackson and
Mary Jelinek.

Additional thanks to Boyd for
opening the house for the Trails &
Sails tour and tea in the garden!

If you do not receive emails from us
please email topsfieldhistory@juno.com

Editor: Anne H. Barrett

Contributors: Norm Isler, Hannah Barrett

Upcoming Events

November 14th, 7:30 PM
Theater in America: Banned to Bawdy
Anne Barrett

November 27th, 10 to 12
Capen House

Old Fashioned Thanksgiving

December 7th, 3 PM
Annual Christmas Party

Kid's Comer

By Hannah Barrett

We picture
the Puritans arriving in America,
wearing buckled hats, buckled
shoes, and perhaps suits and
gowns of all black. The truth is, Pu-
ritans had clothes of every color of
the rainbow from dyes they made
with fruits and vegetables. In fact,
only the wealthy wore black clothes
because black dye was very costly.
Indigo was also a popular dye color,
because it was plentiful. The veggie
shades of their clothing were soft
and subdued, and men sometimes
had colorfully dyed bands on their
best hats. The Puritans wore many
layers of clothing made of wool and
cotton, and in the winter they wore
capes, overcoats, and furs to keep
warm. Women wore aprons over
their dresses to protect them from
the wear and tear of long work
days. It was not considered appro-
priate for a married woman to show
much of her hair; the more that was
cooped up in her “coif,” the better.
Depending on rank, women wore
modest amounts of lace and ruffles.
Men wore felt hats with no buckle
actually, breeches, and stylish cuffs
around their wrists underneath
their jackets and vests.

— —

'<X

■

.

J_jUL.CU JjUI C December, 2014 Issue 113

The Topsfield Historical Society Newsletter

Email: webmaster@topsfieldhistory org

Georgetown Man Had the “Sole” of an Inventor

Paul Pillsbury was bom in Newbury in 1780, and
eventually moved to “the garrison house” in

Georgetown, which he had inherited from his uncle, wuburv House stiii stands today

Upcoming Events

Annual Christmas Party
December 7th, 3 PM

Inventive by nature, Paul set up a private machine shop with a forge,
foundry, lathe and machines of his own making. His first two pa-
tented inventions were for a com sheller and a bark mill, but the in-
vention that brought him fame was the shoe peg machine.

Paul visited his neighbor, Moses Stickney, and found him whittling
wooden heel pegs, a tedious and time consuming task. Mr. Stickney
suggested to Paul that, since he could invent just about anything, he
should build a machine that would produce heel pegs. Paul immed-

iately recognized the brilliance of
the suggestion and set to work on
it. He eventually perfected a ma-
chine that made not only heel

*s, but also smaller pegs for
rest of the sole, eliminating a
difficult job of hand-stitching the
soles. Paul made himself a pair
of shoes using the pegs, complet-
ing the job in less than a quarter
of the time that it previously took.
He began selling the pegs to local
shoemakers at eight cents a
quart or two dollars a bushel.

Unfortunately he never bothered
to obtain a patent, and while he
guarded his secret for years,
eventually he allowed a “good
deacon” to see the machine, and
the secret left with the deacon.
Within a year, another peg mill
was producing pegs at a reduced
price. Nonetheless, his invention
helped revolution-
ize the shoe in-
dustry, earning
hi the name
^Peg” Pillsbury.

Eating donuts on a string at the
Witches' Roost Halloween Party

New Volunteer & Needed Volunteer

We welcome Larry Lindquist as
our new treasurer, and thank
Dick Carlson for his years of ser-
vice in that role. Volunteers are
the lifeblood of the Society.

On that same note, Winnie Sand-
ers has stepped down as chair of
Ways & Means. We need a volun-
teer to take over this role, which
involves handling the sales and
ordering of Society giftware and
publications. It’s a fun way to get
a taste of running your own retail
business! Call Norm at 978-887-
9724 to sign up!

Editor: Anne H. Barrett

Contributors: Norm Isler, Hannah Barrett

Golden Age of Silent Movies
January 11th, 3 PM

Kid’s Corner

For people who celebrate
Christmas, one of the
season’s exciting events
is getting the Christmas
tree. Some people go to
their local tree seller and
purchase a pre-cut tree
that came from Maine or Canada. Oth-
ers make the annual pilgrimage to a
tree farm, search the field for the per-
fect one, and then cut it down and drag
it back to the car for the trip home.

The tradition of displaying a decorated
tree in one’s home began in Germany
in the 19th century, and sometimes
multiple tabletop trees were arranged
around the home. By the middle of
that century, Germans were cutting
down trees at an alarming rate, and
forests were dwindling. A law was
enacted limiting households to one
tree.

Some enterprising people began to
make trees out of feathers. The goose
feather tree became the first artificial
Christmas tree. Metal wire or sticks
were covered with goose, turkey, os-
trich or swan feathers. The feather
sticks were drilled into a larger one to
resemble the branches on a tree; the
feathers were often dyed green to imi-
tate pine needles.

19th century German immigrants
brought the idea with them to America
but it didn’t catch on here until the ear-
ly 20th century.

Courtesy, Georgetown Historical Society

'